Cajus
Cajus Philo Ospulvis, the charming and confident philosopher of the Griffon Lance mercenaries. His training as a soldier and his command of the weave through his words give him all the tools he needs in his archaeological exploits. Fascinated by history he seeks to write an epoch one day, but first he wishes to live one as he follows Baqir the mercenary, who he predicts is destined for greatness. Backstory Cajus was born the third son of a moderately wealthy Agorician merchant turned nobleman, Philo Ospulvis. His father was not ethnically Agorician, which would usually pose a barrier to becoming a nobleman of the republic of Agorice. But his father always said money talks louder than race, and having an appropriately Agorician wife probably helped. Childhood: Being the third son of the Ospulvis family, Cajus never expected to inherit his father's estate. The intricacies of Lordship and politics were always the realms of his older brother Atticus and the financial side of the dye business were covered by his brother Lucius. Cajus had his own ambitions to be a historian and archaeologist. Cajus' father had purchased and lived on one of the oldest estates in all of Agorice and Cajus liked nothing more than spending an afternoon exploring the older, rundown sections of the old estate. It once served as a home for one of the lords of the empire to the north before the Agoricians fought for independence. During the war it had been burned and abandoned until his father bought and renovated it. Cajus would go out to the older quarters, and climb the pillars coated in Ivy to look across the ruins. He would wonder who had built it, why they had built it, and what it may have been like before it fell into disrepair. As Cajus grew older his fascination with ruins in general didn't subside. He regularly attended lectures in the capital city on archaeology and history. He fully intended to become a historian himself and he practiced and learned to read and write in Dwarven and Elvish. He also picked up several instruments in the capital, including the Lyre, the flute and the Piano. The War: Just before Cajus turned twenty Agorice entered into an unexpected conflict with The empire north of them. All able bodied men in the capital and surrounding estates were encouraged to join the military. Military service was very common in Agorice, so Cajus joined and began training. He and his younger brother Magnus, joined the barge brigades delivering supplies up and down the main rivers of Agorice. Cajus' learning and skill with a lyre made him popular among his shipmates as he would weave the stories he read into songs and recite poems to entertain them. It was during this time that he discovered and took a liking to the teachings of Ailish. He had no intention of becoming a cleric of hers, but he found her teachings and philosophy very appealing and he began to wear her symbol pinned to his armor for good luck. Tragedy on the Banks: One morning as Cajus was helping get the barge loaded a group of Imperial spies attacked the boat. Cajus, Magnus and a few of their fellow crew mates formed a spear wall and tried to fight back. They started to win, with Cajus calling encouragement to his allies and insults to his enemies they began to cut down the saboteurs. But one of the imperial spies cut the chain on the loading crane and dropped an enormously heavy crate on the side of the barge that had already begun being loaded. The crate smashed down with a ton of force and the entire barge heaved and flipped over. When Cajus scrambled out of the water and onto the shore he took out his side sword to defend himself. He beat back another assassin who looked badly injured as he crawled out of the water. Several other soldiers regrouped with him and the assassins fled. It took Cajus a few moments to realize his brother had not come up. Cajus dove into the water and swam beneath the flipped barge. When the barge had flipped it had sandwiched his brother between the bottom of the shallow river and its starboard side, like a mouse in a giant mouse trap. Cajus tried to pull him out, but he was not strong enough. He swam to the surface and quickly helped the dock men attach a new chain to the crane so they could lift the barge, but by then it was too late. When the barge finally lifted free from the mud, almost ten minutes has passed and Magnus was dead. Final Battle: After this, Cajus was transferred to an Auxiliary unit near the front lines. It was a while before he saw battle again, but his unit was rerouted to the main army to gather for a large push against the empire. While the legion of soldiers were reunited Cajus met up with his brothers, Atticus and Lucius. The three of them got together and held a small ceremony honoring Magnus the night before the battle. The three of them drank Ash wine for the ceremony which Lucius had procured for them. They drank and they sang songs to honor Magnus, and they all agreed that they were glad to give their lives for the independence of their homeland. The next morning the Agoricians held a steady line, waiting for the invaders to arrive in the valley below them. Suddenly half the army was called back to flank left - Then to Flank right. The Agorician army continued to march in various battle formations, as the two generals in charge of the opposing armies played cat and mouse with one another. It was already 4 in the afternoon before Cajus and his legion finally saw the imperials emerge from the valley entrance, and the two armies launched into each other full force. Cajus moved up the ranks as his legion smashed against the ranks of the empire he began to walk on the bodies of his fallen comrades, and fallen enemies. By the time Cajus got to the front of the line the sun was setting. He fought with everything he had against the line of spears and steel in front of him. Cajus felled two enemy soldiers with his spear before an enemy put a spear through his left shoulder. Cajus dropped back and retreated to the back of the line. He began to move toward the medical units, when he saw a cloud of dust arising on the walls of the valley above them. It was a cavalry charge against their rear. Cajus joined with his fellow soldiers and formed a defensive line along the back of the legion, despite his wound. But the enemy's heavy cavalry hit them like a tidal wave. Cajus was knocked over as a horse rammed into him. When he fell, he grabbed a tower shield from another fallen comrade and pulled it over himself like a blanket to distribute the weight of the horses what would inevitably trample on him, and trample they did. Cajus held the shield tight, but the weight was too much end eventually he passed out. The Chain eye'd Mercenary: When Cajus woke up it was dark, but he could hear the battle was still going on. He pushed the shield off himself and looked around. He saw what was left of his unit being decimated behind him by the enemy cavalry's repeated charges. He pulled himself to his feet and began to run back in the direction of his army's camp. Several units of Cavalry were riding back and forth across the battlefield finishing off the stragglers who were trying to run, and one of them spotted Cajus. He heard a horse riding up behind him and for a split second he thought it was over. But before the rider could get much closer, Cajus heard a smash and a cry behind him. He looked back and saw a mercenary on his own horse with a maul had smashed into his would-be attacker. The mercenary clashed blades with the imperial cavalry a few times before he smashed him upside the head so hard he was knocked clean off his horse. The Mercenary reached for the Imperial horse's reins and held them in Cajus' direction. Cajus approached and grabbed the reins. The mercenary was a tiefling man with a tattoo of a chain going from his eye down his cheek. The Mercenary told Cajus to get back to camp. Cajus objected and said he could fight, but the mercenary shook his head and said there was no need. Cajus was puzzled by this for a second before he heard the thundering of horses approaching. The Agorician Cavalry had caught up. The Mercenary rode off and Cajus mounted his new steed to rode back to camp. Going home: When he arrived at the main camp it was busy with wounded, but lively with the spirit of victory. Cajus and went off to find his brothers. But he was informed that both his remaining brothers' units had been routed, and his brothers had been killed during the battle. Worse yet, he had orders to be discharged because of the the sole survivor act. With no other sons, the Ospulvis family could not lose Cajus and still have a male heir to carry on their name. When Cajus learned this he grabbed a bottle of ail from his tent and left the camp to sit by himself. He pulled out his Lyre and began to play a tune to honor his brothers' sacrifice. As he did, the wound on his shoulder began to stitch itself together. Cajus had read about musicians and philosophers who could influence the weave with their words and music, but he had never expected himself to gain this ability. All of the sudden Cajus was joined by the same mercenary who had saved him during the battle, now sporting several small wounds himself. The Mercenary asked if he could have some of Cajus' ail and Cajus agreed. The Mercenary introduced himself as Baqir and informed Cajus the enemy had been completely routed, and Agorice had won. Cajus played in his Lyre again and the weave stitched Baqir's wound together. Baqir was impressed and offered to help Cajus reach the capital as the roads would be more dangerous during wartime. Cajus agreed and the two of them left the next morning. When Cajus got to the capital he met with the rest of his family, who were staying there temporarily. Together they honored their fallen brothers. Cajus' family asked him to stay in town for the Funerals of his brothers, but Cajus had already said goodbye to them the night before the battle, and he wanted to explore for a while. He didn't want to remember them as coffins, but as the brothers he sang with before a battle for freedom. Cajus returned to Baqir and asked to join him as a fellow mercenary. Cajus wanted to see the world from a new perspective now, and since he couldn't defend Agorice from its enemies as a soldier he wanted to help Agorice in any way he could, with his skills as a bard and explorer. Mainland Mayhem Cajus played a small part during the mainland mayhem arc. Mostly near the end when he infiltrated the Empire sympathizer's ranks and learned of their plans to re-unite the empire. Cajus also helped them redirect Neritha's attack away from the capital before betraying them and turning them in to face justice. A Storm of Stars Cajus did little during this arc. He spent most o his time writing counter propaganda to tear apart Selena's anti-Wahda guild pamphlets and began working on a play that would portray the magnificent adventures of the guild and its members. Relationships: Baqir: Ever since Cajus first met him, he suspected Baqir was destined for something great. Cajus saw that special spark in Baqir that leads men to become legends. Cajus fist started sticking around Baqir because he wants to see if his suspicion about Baqir's destiny is correct; what better way to someday write about a great man than from the perspective of being his right hand adviser? But their relationship is more than that, the two of them enjoy each other's company quite a bit. Cajus keeps Baqir interested with his quippy banter and philosophical fascinations, while Baqir keeps Cajus alive and ambitious in his explorations of Agorice's history. The two of them share a flirtatious dance as Baqir tries every now and then to get Cajus to sleep with him, but they both know Cajus will never actually accept. They do it mostly to mess with Henry and Gryffin. More recently though, Cajus has been noticing Baqir has lost the spark he once saw in him. Henry: Who? The boar he deplores: He deplores it. Palar: Palar is a barrel of fun. The two of them instantly clicked upon meeting each other... The second time. Cajus played a prank on Palar the first time they met by selling him one of his own poems, claiming it was a renowned epic. Cajus thought this would be a funny joke but Palar was genuinely disappointed when he figured out the truth. When they met back up at Gryffin's tavern Cajus reimbursed Palar and explained he meant it in good spirits, but he learned that night that Palar wasn't one for prank wars like Cajus' other friends. Still, the two of them share many interests, including History, Philosophy, Geography and a thirst for exploration. Palar is Cajus' first contact with someone who was familiar with the far off land of Thal'Thaxia, that the dragons call home. History is their real bonding point, though Cajus prefers to explore mostly the past and learn why things came to be, Palar evenly seeks the past, present and potential futures. The two of them train together regularly and will discuss, debate and contemplate a plethora of subjects late into the night. Gryffin: Whether it be her fiery desire for battle, or her inability to understand the meaning of the word 'caution' Cajus finds Gryffin infinitely entertaining to tease. Cajus likes to play long, ongoing cons with the fellow mercenaries he trusts. Cajus continually playing the same prank on you is a sign he trusts you, and Gryffin is someone he trusts. He sings romantic ballads to her, gives her wilted flowers, pretending they're still good and other such pranks to pester her. One time he even went so far as to get another company of mercenaries to form a barber shop quartet with him to sing a love song to her on one occasion. She retaliates with minor physical violence, but Cajus thinks she enjoys the attention and knows he's not serious. Artemis: Cajus was intrigued by, and a little attracted to Artemis at first. She was a fellow intellectual, very strong, very pretty and she seemed fairly amiable. But after he found out how young she was and found out about her occasional mood swings he decided the relationship of colleagues was the best fit for their relationship. Cajus likes to keep himself in carefree company. Still, he admires her intellect and tenacity. Abilities: Trivia: Category:Player Characters Category:Characters